A feeding device includes an accommodating unit, a feeding member, a regulating member, a member-to-be-detected, a detecting device, and a connecting member. The regulating member contacts the member-to-be-detected in a first region with respect to a feeding direction and is spaced from the member-to-be-detected through the connecting member in a second region different from the first region with respect to the feeding direction.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes an apparatus body, an opening/closing member openable/closable with respect to the apparatus body and including a support portion supporting a sheet in a condition in which the opening/closing member is opened. The sheet supported by the support portion is fed by a feed portion. The opening/closing member is provided with a detection portion configured to detect the sheet on the support portion. The detection portion is disposed at a position where the detection wave emitted from the detection portion is not detected in a condition in which the opening/closing member is closed.

A conveying apparatus has first and second trays arranged on an upstream of a conveyor and configured to support the sheet in contact with the conveyor, a feeder configured to feed the sheet on the first tray toward the conveyor, a first sensor configured to output a first signal in response to the sheet being present on the first tray, a second sensor configured to output a second signal in response to the sheet being present between the first tray and the conveyor and configured to output the second signal in response to the sheet being present between the second tray and the conveyor, and a controller configured to execute a removal notifying process to output a notification indicating removal of the sheet on the first tray in response to output of the second signal before a time period since the first signal was output exceeds a threshold period.

A sheet conveying device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a plurality of position detectors, a leading end detector, and a position adjuster. The plurality of position detectors is configured to detect a position of a sheet. The leading end detector is configured to detect a leading end of the sheet. The position adjuster is configured to, based on a detection result obtained by the plurality of position detectors, rotate in a rotation direction of the sheet within a plane of conveyance of the sheet to change the position of the sheet the position adjuster grips the sheet under conveyance to cause the leading end detector to rotate with the position adjuster in the rotation direction of the sheet within the plane of conveyance of the sheet.

A sheet transportation device includes a sheet loading table, a feeding unit that feeds a sheet placed on the sheet loading table, a first detection unit that is provided downstream of the feeding unit in a sheet transportation direction and that detects a position of a leading end of the sheet, a second detection unit that is provided upstream of the feeding unit in the sheet transportation direction and that detects a position of a leading end of a small-size sheet which is smaller than the sheet detected by the first detection unit, and a control unit that starts feeding the sheet based on a result of detection performed by any of the first detection unit or the second detection unit in accordance with a size of the sheet.

A sheet detecting apparatus which detects a sheet conveyed while being nipped by a pair of fixing rollers includes: an abutting portion which is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft and against which the sheet abuts; and a photo sensor which detects the rotation of the abutting portion, wherein the rotation shaft is disposed at a predetermined inclination angle so that the rotation shaft is not parallel to a sheet surface of the sheet against which the abutting portion abuts.

A sheet feeding apparatus is provided with a pick-up roller that contacts sheets loaded on a load tray to pick up, a paper feed roller that feeds a picked-up sheet, and a separation roller brought into press-contact with the paper feed roller to separate the sheet, where the sheets are separated from the pick-up roller, the separation roller is rotated in a sheet return direction different from a sheet feed direction, and subsequently, the paper feed roller is separated from the separation roller. It is possible to prevent damage to a sheet and sheet jam from occurring in pulling out the load tray loaded with sheets to the front side.

An image forming apparatus, in which a method of positional adjustment performed in image forming, includes an image bearer, a transfer device to transfer an image formed on the image bearer onto a recording medium having a first side and a second side, a recording medium conveying path along which the recording medium travels to the transfer device, a first detector and a second detector to detect positional information of the recording medium on or near the recording medium conveying path, in which the first detector being disposed closer to the transfer device than the second detector to the transfer device in a sheet conveying direction on the recording medium conveying path, and an adjuster to adjust a position of the image based on at least one of former positional information obtained by the first detector and current positional information obtained by the second detector.

The present invention provides a recording medium detecting device, an image forming device, an image forming system, a recording medium detecting method, and a non-transitory recording medium storing a computer readable program capable of detecting a grain direction of a recording medium. A recording medium detecting device has: a sensor capable of detecting a recording medium from a first detection direction and a second detection direction different from the first detection direction; and a control unit. The control unit determines a grain direction of a recording medium from first surface property data obtained when the recording medium is detected from the first detection direction and second surface property data obtained when the recording medium is detected from the second detection direction.

A magnetic ink reading device includes a housing having a slot through which a medium is inserted, a roller driven by a motor by which the medium is conveyed along a conveyance path, one or more sensors arranged along the conveyance path and configured to detect the medium at one or more respective positions, a magnetic head configured to read a magnetic pattern formed on the medium with magnetic ink, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the motor to convey the medium inserted through the slot, measure a length in a conveyance direction of the medium using outputs from the sensors, and control the magnetic head to read the magnetic pattern from the medium while controlling the motor to continuously convey the medium for a period corresponding to the measured length.